Israeli forces open fire at fishermen, detain 2 in northern Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning.

Locals said that Israeli naval ships chased down fishing boats off the coast of northern Gaza and opened fire at them. No injuries were reported.

Israeli naval forces detained two fishermen who were identified by Head of the Fishermen Union, Nizzar Ayyash, as Sameh al-Quqa and Shawqi Bakr.

Ayyash added that the boats of the fishermen were confiscated.

The Israeli army regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the so-called ‘buffer zone’, as the authorities have not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.

The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sector of the blockaded coastal enclave, which has been under an Israeli air, land, and sea blockade for 10 years.

The al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reported in that between January and May of 2017, Israel had seized five fishing boats, detained 14 Palestinian fishermen, shot and injured four, while two fishermen were killed.